Lord of Highever
by DeadlyMaelstrom711
Summary: The profile description of my canon Warden. This covers what his life was like before the Blight, personality, physical appearance, etc.


Lately I've had an epiphany: what _if_ I could show readers my canon Warden and describe their early lives based off the decisions I made for them. Take a look for yourselves and let me know what you think. _Dragon Age_ belongs to BioWare.

_"This is how it should be. Set your eyes on the horizon. Do not look back, and do not falter."_

**Aedan Cousland** is a Fereldan nobleman and Grey Warden. He is a member of the Cousland family.

During the opening stages of the Fifth Blight on the very night his elder brother Fergus took most of Highever's army to Ostagar, his family was betrayed from within by their old friend Arl Rendon Howe, who took advantage of Highever's weakened defenses to launch a surprise attack on Castle Cousland and most of the inhabitants inside were butchered. Aedan was present in Highever and witnessed the massacre firsthand, a devastation that weighs heavily on him. However, thanks to Warden-Commander Duncan's interference, Aedan managed to escape with his life in exchange for his services as a Grey Warden.

Six months after the fall of Urthemiel, Aedan took the fallen Duncan's place as Warden-Commander of Ferelden and began the task of rebuilding the order's presence from the fortress of Vigil's Keep, where he rules over the arling of Amaranthine as its new Arl. He then faced a new challenge: it was revealed that despite the Archdemon's death, the remnants of the darkspawn horde did not return underground as two new factions of intelligent darkspawn led by The Architect and The Mother engaged in a civil war over ideology. Soon after, Aedan initiated a strike team to destroy the Mother and killed her at Drake's Fall while sparing the Architect, thereby changing the fate of the darkspawn. In the aftermath, Aedan returned to rebuilding the Wardens' presence and began overseeing repairs to Amaranthine while consolidating his control over the arling, serving with honor until his disappearance several years later.

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**Early Life**

Aedan Cousland was born on 7 Wintermarch 9:5 Dragon to Teyrn Bryce Cousland and Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, one of the most powerful nobles in Ferelden. Born to wealth and power second only to royalty, the Couslands have stewarded the lands of Highever for countless generations, dating back to less civilized days before the crowning of Ferelden's first king. As a child, he rarely left Castle Cousland other than to accompany his father to Denerim for a Landsmeet. Not much is known about his early education, other than he was an amateur scholar and patron of history, literature, politics, economics and mathematics. Hailed as a prodigy by nature, Aedan was praised by his tutors as the best of his generation.

Despite his older brother Fergus's martial skill, many speculate that Aedan is more likely to become Teyrn of Highever than Fergus himself. From then on, he was known as the young scion of the Cousland family – living up to his family's proud heritage.

It is believed that Aedan held his first sword as early as four when he began studying as a squire. When he was sixteen, Aedan participated in the grand tourney and defeated opponents such as Dairren, his father, and brother.

He also appears to be fluent in Orlesian.

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**Personality traits**

As a child, Aedan was a very kind and cheerful boy. He was also very proud of being Teyrn Bryce Cousland's son and looked up to him, wanting to be more like him. In his youth, he had a desire to be acknowledged as the greatest teyrn Highever had ever seen. Even from a young age, Aedan was noted to be wise beyond his years and spent much of his time in libraries researching the history of Thedas from ancient writings. By the time he was 13, his understanding of the world was on par with that of a monarch.

In adulthood, Aedan was shown to be patient, highly analytical and quick-witted, showing both great maturity and sense of responsibility. In battle, he was disciplined and possessed a great deal of intellect and insight. He enjoyed reading, and took a special liking to culture and history taught by Aldous in particular. Always pressing onwards to the future with a composed focus, he acts as the scholar of Highever's archives. Unlike the vast majority of the nobility, Aedan was not interested in personal gain; he cared not only for a separate class of citizens but for everyone in Ferelden as a whole. As such, Aedan is kind, considerate, and fair. To his family, he represented everything the Couslands stands for: justice and temperance, but knows when to put his foot down in serious situations. Along with his older brother Fergus, Aedan dearly loved his parents, his sister-in-law Oriana and his young nephew Oren.

However, when Arl Rendon Howe betrayed the Couslands and launched a brutal coup d'état against that resulted in the murder of almost the entire family, Aedan was completely devastated as he witnessed the heinous act as he irrationally tried to protect his parents despite the fact that Highever was already lost, only stopping when Eleanor manages to talk some sense into him. Duncan described Aedan as a man "who lost everything except his life". After the fall of his family's teyrnir, Aedan's personality was altered: his mind was clouded by loss, grief and suffering, developing an unsated hunger for vengeance, never forgetting who wronged him or his friends and dedicated his life to killing Howe, to the point where Alistair, Leliana and Wynne are shown to be extremely worried about his well-being.

Apparently being emotionally scarred from the trauma he experienced during the Highever massacre, he was portrayed as an aloof, melancholic, and serious man. He is willing to take risks for those he cares about, but still has trouble trusting people he hadn't known before and is also willing to let those who wronged him suffer for it, as shown when he brutally killed Howe for what he did to his family and when he personally executed Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir for crimes committed during his regency. In a way, Aedan slowly began to regain portions of his morality when in the company of his companions, but antagonists seeking to harm them force him to remain hardened. He ultimately comes to terms with his darker nature, which he thought he has put away for good.

Nonetheless, despite this change in mindset, Aedan's main drive does still appear to be carrying on the Cousland legacy and honoring the sacrifice of his parents by staying alive and doing what is right, even trying to let go of his hatred and desire for vengeance as he realized it threatened to consume him. Aedan has also shown to be rather selfless towards the other members of the group as demonstrated when he helped with their personal quests. Furthermore he adores his lover Leliana very much and thinks of her dearly, sometimes affectionately calling her "Leli" and will not hesitate to protect her. This mutual affection with Leliana later led to the two getting married and starting their own family, having a son named Adrian. Despite his duties as Warden-Commander of Ferelden, he always tried to make time for them, proving himself to be a loving husband and father.

While Aedan was a skilled warrior, he is also an expert strategist capable of seeing through most of his enemies' ploys. He treats his allies with modest professionalism and genuine respect, a charismatic leader who inspires his forces to fight against all possible odds. His devotion to his country and his loyalty to his friends and family are unquestionable, and his talents are praised with renown.

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**Appearance**

As stated by Arl Eamon Guerrin, Aedan bears a striking resemblance to his father, having Teyrn Bryce Cousland's face. From his mother, Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, Aedan inherited her eyes. During the Landsmeet, Bann Sighard and Bann Alfstanna Eremon recognized him as Bryce and Eleanor's son due to their stark resemblance as well. According to Lady Landra, Aedan is considered quite handsome and good looking as he attracted many suitors.


End file.
